2004 ABA Annual Meeting Update

• Last Chance to Purchase Advance Tickets for 2004 Thurgood Marshall Award Dinner
• Father Robert F. Drinan to Receive Highest ABA Honor
• Commemoration of 1964 Civil Rights Act Among Programs at Annual Meeting
• Section to Elect 2004-05 Leaders at Annual Meeting
• Section Proposes ABA Policy on Patients' Rights
  

Please note: For more Section news and information, please see the upcoming Summer 2004 "IRR News Report" which is also available online at www.abanet.org/irr/newsreport/summer04/home.html.

Thursday, July 8 is the advance ticket order deadline for the 2004 Thurgood Marshall Award Dinner, to be held on Saturday, Aug. 8 at the ABA Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Ga.  Following July 8, tickets may be purchased at the ABA Registration Area, Georgia World Congress Center, during ABA registration hours.

Veteran civil rights lawyer Fred D. Gray will be honored at this year's award dinner with Rev. Joseph E. Lowery, co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference serving as the keynote speaker. The dinner will begin at 8:00 p.m. at the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel with a reception preceding the dinner at 7:00 p.m.

• Thurgood Marshall Dinner ticket order form
  

Section co-founder and former Chair Father Robert F. Drinan will receive the 2004 ABA Medal, the association's highest honor, at the 2004 ABA Annual Meeting. The ABA Medal recognizes exceptionally distinguished service to the cause of American jurisprudence.

The Award will be presented to Father Drinan on Monday, Aug. 9, during the opening of the ABA House of Delegates.

• ABA Press Release on Father Drinan
  

The Section will sponsor a symposium commemorating the 40th anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The three-part series will examine the history of the Act and the Bar's role in the civil rights movement, the progeny of the Act, and the future of civil rights in the U.S.  The symposium will take place on Sunday, Aug. 8. Panelists include Wade Henderson, Cruz Reynoso, Ralph Neas, Father Robert F. Drinan, Theodore Shaw, Mark Agrast, and others.

The Section also is sponsoring additional programs on Monday, Aug. 9, including, "The Federal Judicial Nomination Process: Ensuring a Fair and Independent Judiciary"; "Ending Segregation and Protecting the Autonomy of the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities: The Intersection of the Fair Housing Act and Olmstead"; and "Is Justice Available in the New Russia? The Use of Criminal Prosecution for Political Purposes." All Section CLE Programs will take place at the Georgia World Congress Center.

On Friday, Aug. 6,, a special screening of the Sundance Film Festival documentary, Deadline: The Lessons of the Illinois Moratorium Experience will be shown at the Wyndham Atlanta Hotel at 3:30 p.m.

• Full List of Section Events at 2004 ABA Annual Meeting
  

The Section will hold its 2004 Annual Meeting on Friday, Aug. 6, during the ABA's Annual Meeting. The agenda includes the election of 2004-05 Section officers and Council members.

This year's Chair-elect, Stephen F. Hanlon of Washington, D.C., automatically succeeds to the position of Section Chair for 2004-05. The 2004 Section Nominating Committee has proposed the following slate of candidates for open positions for 2004-05:

Chair-elect:
John D. Podesta, Washington, D.C.

Vice Chair:
Paul M. Igasaki, Alexandria, Va.

Secretary :
Georgina C. Verdugo, Los Angeles, Calif.

Three-year Council Positions:
Marcia D. Greenberger, Washington, D.C.
Drucilla S. Ramey, New York, N.Y.
Robert E. Stein, Washington, D.C.
Richard M. Macias, Los Angeles, Calif.

One-year Unexpired Term:
Sarah Weddington, Austin, Tex.

Council Member Robert E. Stein also has submitted his name for the position of Secretary.

Under the Section's bylaws, any Section member may make additional nominations for these positions by submitting a written statement of nomination signed by at least one other member in addition to the member being nominated. Nominations must be received by Section Chair Joan F. Kessler or Section Secretary Paul M. Igasaki at least six hours before the election. Nominations will not be accepted from the floor at the time of the election.

The Section Council is scheduled to meet from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 6, and from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 7, in the Athena Room, Mezzanine Level, of the Wyndham Atlanta Hotel. Council sessions are open to all members. Please contact the Section office (tel.: 202/662-1030) for further information.

In August, the ABA House of Delegates will consider a Section-sponsored Report with Recommendation addressing the rights of patients to receive medical information to make fully informed decisions about the healthcare they receive.

The recommendation opposes governmental actions and policies that interfere with the right of patients to receive from healthcare professionals and entities, all relevant and medically accurate information necessary to make their own healthcare decisions and that interferes with the ability of patients to access, either directly or through referral, medically appropriate care. The Report with Recommendation was drafted by the Section's Health Law and Bioethics Committee.

• View all Reports with Recommendations to be considered by the ABA House of Delegates in August